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With over 2000 national and international employers, Northeastern has the largest and most innovative co-op/internship programs in the world. Started in 1909, the university’s co-op program is also one of the oldest in the nation. Through the co-op program, students alternate periods of academic study with periods of professional employment related to their major. Most majors offer a four-year graduation option with fewer co-op placements, but the five year program tends to be more popular with students. The co-op program typically starts sophomore year (after a traditional freshman year).
With over 2000 national and international employers, Northeastern has the largest and most innovative co-op/internship programs in the world. Started in 1909, the university’s co-op program is also one of the oldest in the nation. Through the co-op program, students alternate periods of academic study with periods of professional employment related to their major. Most majors offer a four-year graduation option with fewer co-op placements, but the five year program tends to be more popular with students. The co-op program typically starts sophomore year (after a traditional freshman year).


Co-op placements range from small dynamic start-up companies to large multinational companies with thousands of employees, including many of the [[Fortune 500]] corporations. The program also places students with government agencies, and branches of government. Northeastern students can be found interning in [[Congress]] and the [[White House]]. Many of the companies and governmental bodies have been participating in the program for several decades. Student placements usually last six months, and are mostly paid which can help defray tuition costs. Unlike some co-op programs, Northeastern students do not pay tuition during periods of employment.
Co-op placements range from small dynamic start-up companies to large multinational companies with thousands of employees, including many [[Fortune 500]] corporations. The program also places students with government agencies, and branches of government. Northeastern students can be found interning in [[Congress]] and the [[White House]]. Many of the companies and governmental bodies have been participating in the program for several decades. Student placements usually last six months, and are mostly paid which can help defray tuition costs. Unlike some co-op programs, Northeastern students do not pay tuition during periods of employment.
By sampling different work environments and varied types of positions, students gain valuable insight into the type of career they want-or do not to pursue-before committing to a post-graduation position.
By sampling different work environments and varied types of positions, students gain valuable insight into the type of career they want-or do not to pursue-before committing to a post-graduation position.


Revision as of 01:13, 17 July 2007

For other uses, see Northeastern University (disambiguation).
Northeastern University
NU Logo
NU Logo
MottoLux, Veritas, Virtus
(Light, Truth, Virtue)
TypePrivate
Established1898
Endowment$650 million
PresidentDr. Joseph Aoun
Academic staff
1854
Undergraduates15,000
Postgraduates4,268
Location
Boston
,
MA
,
USA
CampusUrban 67 acres (271,139 m²)
ColorsRed & Black
AffiliationsNew England Association of Colleges and Schools
MascotHusky
Websitewww.neu.edu
File:NEUBanner.gif

Northeastern University, abbreviated as NU or NEU, is a top 100 private national research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Northeastern's campus is mostly located in Boston's Fenway and Back Bay neighborhoods adjacent to Huntington Avenue near the vaunted Museum of Fine Arts and Symphony Hall. The area is also known as the "Fenway Cultural District".

Northeastern is perhaps best known for its distinctive "co-op" program, which encourages students to alternate semesters of study with periods of full-time work with co-operative partners in business and industry. In 2003, US News ranked Northeastern #1 for Best Co-ops/Internships for this characteristic. Employers from around the world participate in the program, providing an avenue for internships and post-graduation employment. Employers include top ranked international law firms, banks and corporations, including many of the Fortune 500 companies. The undergraduate business school is ranked number 26 in the country by Business Week. Northeastern ranked No. 4 in Forbes Magazine as one of "America's Most Entrepreneurial Campuses." Northeastern has produced many successful graduates, including top executives, entrepreneurs, scientists, astronauts, entertainers, and professional athletes.

Admission to Northeastern is highly competitive and selective. In 2007, the university received over 30,000 applications for 2800 seats in the freshman class. The acceptance rate was 39%. Northeastern is ranked among the top 10 private universities in the U.S. in terms of the total number of applications received.

History

Northeastern was established in 1898 as the "Evening Institute for Younger Men" at the Huntington Avenue YMCA. The Institute catered to needs of the rapidly growing immigrant population in Boston. Within a few years of its formation, it offered classes in law, engineering, and finance. In 1909 the school began offering day classes and it moved to a new location on Huntington Avenue in 1913. The school was officially organized as a college in 1916, and in 1922 it was renamed "Northeastern University of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association." The University continues to rent space for undergraduate housing in the adjacent Huntington Avenue YMCA. In a period of rapid campus expansion, the University purchased the Huntington Avenue Grounds (former Boston Red Sox ballpark) in 1929, but was unable to build on the land due to financial constraints during The Great Depression.

In 1935, the College of Liberal Arts was added to Northeastern, and the University's name was simplified to "Northeastern University." In 1937 The Northeastern University Corporation was established, creating a board of trustees made up of 31 members of the NU Corporation and 8 members of the YMCA. In 1948 Northeastern separated itself completely from the YMCA.

Following World War II, Northeastern began admitting women, and in the boom of post-war college-bound students, Northeastern created a College of Education (1953), University College (now called the School of Professional & Continuing Studies) (1960), College of Pharmacy, and College of Nursing (1964), subsequently combined into the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, College of Criminal Justice (1967) and College of Computer Science (1982), which has since been renamed the College of Computer and Information Science.

Since its inception, the University had been a commuter school with many part-time and evening students, and by the early 1980s had grown to a staggering 60,000 enrollees. In the 1990s, the University decided to drastically reduce the number of enrolled students in an effort to better fit the mold of the more prestigious schools around it. The University cut its freshman class size from around 4500 students to 2800 students.

Since 1996, President Richard Freeland has ushered in an extraordinary stage of institutional change: average SAT scores increased more than 200 points, retention rates rose dramatically, and applications have doubled. President Freeland oversaw Northeastern’s largest expansion ever, opening $455 million in new facilities,including residence halls,academic and research facilities, and new athletic centers. The institution has also become substantially more selective, leading to a more-qualified student body.

During the transition, students endured annual tuition hikes, a re-organization of the co-operative education system, and the introduction of a new academic calendars introduced at the insistence of the faculty. The new calendar features two traditional semesters and two summer "minimesters", and replaced the popular quarter system.

Throughout the transformation, President Freeland's oft-repeated goal was to crack the Top 100 of the U.S. News rankings. With this goal accomplished as they reached number 98 , and with the transformation from commuting school to national university complete, he stepped down from the presidency on August 15, 2006. His successor is Dr. Joseph Aoun, formerly a dean at USC.[1]

The Campus

File:Northeastern huntington forsyth.jpg
Northeastern University from the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Forsyth Street

Northeastern's campus is mostly located along Huntington Avenue in an area known as the "Fenway Cultural District" which is part of Boston's Fenway and Back Bay neighborhoods. Other notable institutions in the district include: the vaunted Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, Symphony Hall, the Huntington Theater, New England Conservatory of Music, Boston Conservatory, Christian Science Center, and Harvard School of Public Health.

Northeastern's campus is something of an urban oddity; despite its location in central Boston, Northeastern is home to a remarkable amount of green open space and quads. This is an attribute not shared by most urban universities.

Historically, Northeastern had ranked among the ugliest campuses in the United States. Twice called a “Concrete Jungle” by the APA (American Planning Association) in the late 1970’s and again in the mid 1980’s. The road to Northeastern was paved in blacktop and concrete.

A site master planning competition awarded a multi-million dollar contract to revive and rejuvenate the campus and the process was started in 1988 with the creation of the new Northeastern Quad and Mt Ryder. A small oval of land centrally located at the campus main entrance that was refurbished by the donations of the graduating class of 1989.

What was once a concrete square, outside of the library and student center, was transformed with brick pavers and granite curb stones, in a scalloped design that would eliminate all square corners, a concept developed by the outgoing class of 1989 in a “Northeastern News” poll and suggestion to the President Box that was presented to the board of Trustees in March 1988. The “No Corners” campaign kicked off with a fund raiser at the Ell Student Center on Parents weekend in October 1988. The later selection of a nationally recognized green space landscape architect in 1990 started a renewal plan that continues today. Since the late 1990’s Northeastern has been considered a model of design for an urban university and has been twice won the “most beautiful new or renovated exterior space” award presented by the American Institute of Architects in 2001 and again in 2004.

In 2003, Northeastern was awarded the prestigious gold medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A unique feature of the University is its well-traveled network of underground tunnels that link 13 major campus buildings for easier travel during inclement weather. However, due to city regulations preventing expansion of the tunnels under major city streets and underground rivers under the campus, the tunnels primarily service the buildings on the university's early campus space (i.e., buildings developed during the 1980s through the present are not served by the tunnel system).

Snell Library

The NU Libraries are comprised of the Snell Library, the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute Library, and a library at the NU Marine Science Center in Nahant, Massachusetts. Northeastern University also has a School of Law Library.

Snell Library, the main Northeastern library, opened in 1990 at a cost of $35 million and is home to 985,000 volumes. Snell is home to the Favat Collection; a comprehensive and current collection of children's literature and K-12 curriculum resources, instructional materials, and related information in a variety of formats to support courses offered by the NU School of Education for the practice of teaching. Snell is also home to three computer labs operated by NU Information Services Customer Services. The InfoCommons and InfoCommons II are labs available to all NU students, faculty, and staff. The other lab is used as a teaching lab.

The NU Libraries received federal depository designation in 1962 under the sponsorship of Massachusetts Congressman John W. McCormack. As a selective depository, the Libraries receive forty-five percent of the federal publication series available to depository libraries.

The Snell Library is also home to the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections department, which includes the Benjamin LaGuer papers collection.

West Village

File:DSC00654.JPG
West Village A North or "High Rise"
West Village H

West Village was originally Northeastern University's largest parking area. In the early 1990s, Northeastern plotted the land into several sections to be turned into residence halls as well as academic buildings. The West Village area was opened in 1999 with the opening of West Village A, and was completed in 2006 with the opening of West Village F, which houses the Honors Program offices, the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute (the original Institute building was leveled during the construction of WVF), housing for freshmen in the honors program (breaking the tradition of freshmen living on the Hemenway Street area of campus), and classrooms.
.

The construction of West Village has been the cause of some controversy on campus and in the community, namely concerns about construction noise and the loss of parking spaces where the buildings are now located. The Museum of Fine Arts was also concerned about the height of West Village H (which houses the University's College of Computer and Information Science, as well as a dormitory for students over 21 years of age), and whether it would cast a shadow on the Museum during the day. The construction of West Village F brought two complaints: first, the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute became the only cultural center on campus not to have its own building. Second, the presence of honors freshmen in West Village F angers many upperclass students, because West Village had previously been limited to only upperclassmen housing. Upperclassmen in the honors program have been particularly upset, because there is no building reserved exclusively for upperclass honors students (although there are several floors in West Village C). Additionally, rooms in West Village F are larger and newer than rooms in West Village C. However, the controversy and complaints have been low-key compared to that of other construction and expansion projects the university has undertaken.

The following buildings make up West Village, in order of completion:

  • West Village A (opened 1999): Residence Hall; separated into two sections, West Village A North and South. Although it is one building, you must exit West Village A North to enter South and vice versa. Frequently referred to as "High Rise" and "Low Rise," which causes some confusion among visitors and new students now that the taller West Village H has opened.
  • West Village B (opened 2001): Residence Hall.
  • West Village C (opened 2001): Residence Hall. Several floors are set aside for upperclassmen in the honors program. Contains one classroom used by the Registrar during the day for classes and for hall activities in the evening.
  • Behrakis Health Science Center (opened 2002): Contains classrooms, laboratories, and the Admissions Visitor Center. Behrakis Center is also designed to act as a response center in the event of a mass public health emergency in the city of Boston; it can be converted into a fully functional hospital in 24 hours.
  • West Village E (opened 2002): Residence Hall.
  • West Village G (opened 2004): Residence Hall. Also contains several classrooms.
  • West Village H (opened 2004): Residence Hall. West Village H is currently open to students who are over the age of 21. The building is also the new home of the College of Computer and Information Science and has several classrooms, offices and computer labs.
  • West Village F (opened 2006): Residence Hall for the freshman honors program (breaking the tradition of freshman residing on the Hemenway Street area of campus). Also includes the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute (the original Institute building was leveled after construction of West Village F), offices for the Honors Program, and classrooms.

A 22-story high rise has been approved behind the current YMCA, this building will fit another 650 beds.

South Campus (Columbus Avenue)

Northeastern University's southernmost section of campus is located along Columbus Avenue in Roxbury, parallel to the Orange line. The University expanded south into Roxbury at the same time as they were building West Village. In 2001, Davenport Commons was opened, providing 585 students housing in two new, state-of-the-art residence halls while 75 families representing a range of incomes have been able to purchase a condo or townhouse at or below Boston’s market value. Davenport Commons also created more than 2000 square feet of commercial space on Tremont Street and has received an enthusiastic response from city residents, students and its occupants. [2]

In the spring of 2004, the Student Government Association and NU's Administration announced plans to build an athletic complex and football field where the Columbus Parking Lot now stands by 2014.

During the summer of 2006, Northeastern University proposed a new residence hall further away from the main campus at the corner of Tremont Street and Ruggles Street. The building was approved by the city in January of 2007. Construction on the building, which is located on land known as Parcel-18, began in late February 2007. The building is expected to open in the Fall of 2009 and will be a total of 23 stories tall.[3]

The following buildings make up the Southern Campus, with their respective opening dates:

Residential Buildings

  • Davenport Commons A - 2000
  • Davenport Commons B - 2000
  • 780 Columbus Avenue - 2001
  • 10 Coventry - 2005

Administrative Buildings

  • Columbus Place (716 Columbus Ave) - 1997
  • Renaissance Park (1135 Tremont St)

Athletic Buildings

  • Badger and Rosen Facility (Squashbusters) - 2003

Parking Lots

  • Renaissance Parking Garage (Public)
  • Columbus Parking Lot (Faculty/Staff)
  • Columbus Parking Garage (Faculty/Staff/Students)
  • Columbus Place Lot (Faculty/Staff/Students)

Public Transportation

Of the many colleges and universities in the greater Boston area, Northeastern has the best overall access to both intercity and intracity public rail and bus transportation as it is serviced directly by two of the four color coded subway and streetcar subsystems. The larger part of Northeastern's campus is directly adjacent to Huntington Avenue and is accessible by the MBTA (known simply as the 'T' locally); three Green Line (all "E" Branch) stops (Symphony, Northeastern, and Museum of Fine Arts) and two Orange line (Massachusetts Avenue and Ruggles) (which also has commuter rail service) stops. Riders can connect easily via a short ride to the Red line or Blue line by either of the Orange or Green Lines.

Presidents

Presidents of Northeastern (with years of tenure and campus buildings named in their honor):

Academics

See also: Northeastern University School of Law

Northeastern offers undergraduate degrees in numerous professional programs. The University recently allotted $75 million towards the "Academic Investment Plan" (AIP). Over five years, the University plans to enhance its academic programs in three areas: undergraduate education, core graduate professional programs, and centres of research excellence. The cornerstone of the Academic Investment Plan is the expansion of University faculty by 100 tenured and tenure-track professors between 2005 and 2009. This plan was recently expanded to provide for the hiring of an additional 30 tenure and tenure-track faculty expanding the total to 130 new faculty hires. Additionally, the University plans to expand its undergraduate majors and advance research in areas of interdisciplinary sciences and engineering, namely biotechnology, nanotechnology, and sensing and imaging.

In the 2007 US News and World Report college ranking, Northeastern is ranked 98th on the list of "Top National Universities", a list of hundreds of universities across the nation. This ranking is artificially deflated as a result of Northeastern's non-traditional five year program of study and as a result of the ranking's not taking into account that roughly half of the student body is away on "co-op" at any given time [graduation rate; and student-faculty ratio are heavily weighted in the ranking criteria].

Northeastern ranked #1 for Best Co-ops/Internships the only time that US News ranked schools on this characteristic. In 2007, the undergraduate business school ranked 26th in the nation according to Business Week and 15th for international business by US News. Northeastern's High Technology MBA program ranked #1 in a "Top Techno MBA Survey" released by ComputerWorld Magazine. Northeastern also ranked No. 4 in Forbes Magazine as one of "America's Most Entrenpreneurial Campuses." The engineering school ranked in the top 50 according to US News. The EMBA program is ranked in the top 50 in the U.S. by the Financial Times and No. 21 in the nation by US News. The Finance Department is ranked No. 2 in the nation by Advances in Financial Education in terms of the number of publications in financial journals. In addition, Northeastern undergrad B-school students have dominated case competitions against other Boston area business schools winning nine of the last 11 Business School Beanpot competitions.

Northeastern is ranked No. 26 in the nation by the National Research Council in Oceanography. The Criminal Justice School is also one of the top ranked programs in the country according to US News. In 2007, the architecture program ranked No. 12 in the country in terms of research by Archsoc.com. Other strong programs include: computer science, journalism, political science, music industry, history, international affairs, nursing, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, and physical therapy.

Northeastern offers undergraduate degrees through the University's seven undergraduate day colleges listed below.

Co-op/Internship Program

With over 2000 national and international employers, Northeastern has the largest and most innovative co-op/internship programs in the world. Started in 1909, the university’s co-op program is also one of the oldest in the nation. Through the co-op program, students alternate periods of academic study with periods of professional employment related to their major. Most majors offer a four-year graduation option with fewer co-op placements, but the five year program tends to be more popular with students. The co-op program typically starts sophomore year (after a traditional freshman year).

Co-op placements range from small dynamic start-up companies to large multinational companies with thousands of employees, including many Fortune 500 corporations. The program also places students with government agencies, and branches of government. Northeastern students can be found interning in Congress and the White House. Many of the companies and governmental bodies have been participating in the program for several decades. Student placements usually last six months, and are mostly paid which can help defray tuition costs. Unlike some co-op programs, Northeastern students do not pay tuition during periods of employment. By sampling different work environments and varied types of positions, students gain valuable insight into the type of career they want-or do not to pursue-before committing to a post-graduation position.

Students may live in the university residence halls on campus during periods of co-op employment. The university currently leases housing for students co-oping in New York City and Washington, D.C. The university also helps student find suitable housing in other American cities and internationally. The university administration recently announced a plan to triple the number of international placements by the fall of 2007.

The typical Northeastern student will graduate with three co-op placements under their belt, an impressive resume, and a list of contacts, giving Northeastern graduates an edge in the job market over graduates from most other schools. Many Northeastern students accept a permanent position from one of their former co-op employers. In some cases, a company even may provide some form of tuition reimbursement. Those students who do not accept a permanent position typically head directly to graduate or professional school. According to the Princeton Review , employers and graduate schools give “high regard to internship and co-op experiences.”

Colleges and schools

Colleges listed including Schools and degrees offered

Research Centers and Institutes

  • Antimicrobial Discovery Center
  • Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis
  • Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict
  • Center for Advance Microgravity Materials Processing
  • Center for Communications and Digital Signal Processing
  • Center for Community Health Education Research and Service
  • Center for Criminal Justice Policy Research
  • Center for Drug Discovery
  • Center for Effective University Teaching
  • Center for Experiential Education and Academic Advising
  • Center for Family Business
  • Center for High Rate Nanomanufacturing
  • Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems
  • Center for Labor Market Studies
  • Center for Microcontamination Control
  • Center for Microwave Magnetic Materials and Integrated Circuits
  • Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Nanomedicine
  • Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems
  • Center for the Study of Democracy
  • Center for the Study of Sport in Society
  • Center for Urban Environmental Studies
  • Center for Urban and Regional Policy
  • Center for Work and Learning
  • Domestic Violence Institute
  • Electronic Materials Research Institute
  • Institute for Complex Scientific Software
  • Institute for Global Innovation Management
  • Institute for Information Assurance
  • Institute for Network and Pervasive Computing
  • Institute for Security and Public Policy in Criminal Justice
  • Institute on Race and Justice
  • Institute on Urban Health Research
  • Marine Science Center
  • National Education and Research Center for Outcomes Assessment in Healthcare
  • New England Inflammation and Tissue Protection Institute
  • Public Health Advocacy Institute
  • STEM Education Center

Athletics

Main article: Northeastern Huskies
File:NortheasternHuskies.png
Northeastern Huskies logo

A few outstanding athletes have played for Northeastern's sports teams. Dan Ross played football at Northeastern long before setting the Super Bowl record for receptions in a game. Reggie Lewis still holds the men's basketball career scoring record.

Most of the Northeastern University athletic teams now compete in the Colonial Athletic Association; the school switched from the America East Conference to the CAA for the 2005-06 athletic season. In their first year in the more prestigious league, the men's basketball team finished in 6th place (out of 12 teams) and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament. The CAA would prove to be a competitive conference in the 2006 NCAA Basketball Tournament, as George Mason University advanced all the way to the Final Four.

Northeastern's hockey program competes in the highly competitive Hockey East Conference. They are not known as a dominant team, usually finishing in the middle of the pack, although they have made some major upsets in the past. Their last NCAA appearance was 1994. They are also a particpant in the annual Beanpot tournament between the four major Boston-area colleges. Northeastern has won the annual event 4 times in its 54-year history.

In the Club Sports area NU has a very unique program in the sport of Rugby. The rugby program was started in 1984 by a group of students from NU and included some athletes from other schools in the area. Due to university policy the team could not gain formal recognition and was not allowed to use the "Husky" name. Therefore, the name "Maddogs" was chosen by the lads. In about 1986 the university did grant the rugby program formal recognition but the Maddog name remains with the rugby program to this day. The Maddogs compete in the top division of Collegiate rugby in the country. If they are to be measured by the company they keep, their competition Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Westpoint, to name a few, would suggest the quality of the rugby being played at Northeastern.

In the more recent past a "Lady Maddog" program was started and they compete in the highest level of competition in the country.

Student Life and Activities

Although Northeastern's student population tends to be considered somewhat fractured, a result of alternating cycles for the co-op program, there is still substantial student involvement in a number of activities. Several distinct student-run entities, including the Student Government Association (SGA), the Council for University Programming (CUP), and the Resident Student Association(RSA) organize activities for both Northeastern students as well as the surrounding community.

Student Publications

The most widely circulated publication is The Northeastern News, a weekly newspaper assessing the recent events around the campus. While the News does contain student-composed editorials and other information pertinent to the Northeastern community, its most well-read feature is the Crime Log, a page containing various entries from the Campus Safety log, including the "Crime Log Entry of the Week."

Other publications include the humor magazine Times New Roman, the African-American cultural magazine Onyx, the faculty newspaper Northeastern Voice, the conservative Northeastern Patriot, and the newest publication, Tastemakers, a music magazine that was first issued in the fall of 2006.

School Statistics & Awards

Admissions

According to Barrons College Guides, admission to Northeastern University is highly competitive. In 2007, the university received over 30,000 applications for 2800 seats in the freshman class. The acceptance rate was 39%. The average SAT/GPA for enrolled students is 1250/3.5 (projected).

Awards & Recognition

  • In 2002, the campus was designated an Engineering Research Center by the National Science Foundation.
  • Since 2002, NU has received three major awards for design excellence including the 2005 Harleston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects.
  • In 2004, NU was one of six institutions to be selected by the National Science Foundation as a center for research in nanotechnology.

Notable alumni

Business


Entertainment & Sports

Government & Politics

Science & Technology

Notable faculty

Student Organizations

Student Media

Student Groups

General

Greek

Ethnic/Cultural

Professional

Political/Religious

Activity-oriented

References

External links


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